Gone
by Kae346
Summary: Jak's had a secret he has holed up since their early days in Sandover and when Jak and Daxter go on a mission to retrieve an artifact from Samos' old hut, Jak lets slip and all hell breaks loose. Minor JakDaxter


**Writers: **Ash and Em

**Pairing: **Jak/Daxter

**Warning:** Vereh sad. ;-;

**Author's notes: **It starts off with Jak's first days in Sandover, then goes back into the present.

Prologue

The Sage had a firm grip around the young boys wrist as he led them across the grass to a small wooden bridge. "Welcome, my boy. This is your new home." He looked up at it, and around the small village that lay behind them, similarly made up: wooden and spacious, for their small size. He listened to the water lapping the cliffs to his side

"Keira! Daxter!" The sage called. "The boy's here!" Almost instantly, two heads popped up out of a scary-looking plant thing. One belonged to a girl, who had short aqua-green hair. The other one belonged to a boy, who had flaming red/orange hair, and seemed really nice to the boy.

"Keira, Daxter, I want you to meet…" The sage stopped. He had brought the child into the past. He was Mar in his time, but this wasn't his time. "Jak." Daxter and Keira approached the green-blond boy curiously. Jak watched them closely, they seemed nice enough. Keira smiled at him. "Hi." She greeted happily. "You're small." Daxter chimed in with a good-hearted smile.

Samos frowned at Daxter and fought back the urge to whack the young boy. "Daxter! Be nice!" He scolded. Daxter stuck his tongue out. "Come play with us!" Keira said, tugging on Jak's hand. Jak looked up at Samos who nodded. Jak turned back to face Keira and grinned and the three young elves took off running toward the beach.

"So," Daxter asked. "Do ya talk? And what's with the clothes? They look scruffy." Jak didn't reply. He just shrugged his shoulders simply and ran down to the water, which looked more inviting than the water at Haven City.

"I don't think he talks, Daxter." Keira said, splashing around. "Papa called people that don't talk mutes." "I know!" Daxter said. "Geez, even when old green's not around we still hear about his preaching." Jak watched the other two quietly; everyone was always telling him he must be quiet and not say anything to anyone in case he was caught. Overtime it rubbed off on the child and he ended up never speaking. Those around him eventually got used to it, but now he had two new friends.

Jak didn't worry about not speaking and simply played with his newfound friends until they were all ready to collapse from exhaustion.

Samos came down to the beach at dusk to see the three children lined up along the waterfront. He smirked to himself and headed away again. Then, when he was gone, Daxter jumped up and started to tell a story.

"Did I ever tell you about the time where a shark bit off my foot!" He asked.

"Oh, Daxter, a shark didn't bite off your foot! You still have two!" Keira insisted. "oh really?" Daxter asked, pointing to the sand. Only one foot was visible. Now, a logical person would realize Daxter had buried his other foot in the sand, but Keira was only 6 and was therefore not very logical.

Daxter laughed so hard he fell onto his backside as Keira scrambled up to Samos' hut crying. Jak watched her go and frowned. Then he turned back to Daxter who was still laughing. So Jak smirked. "Ya like that, huh?" Daxter said, and Jak nodded. "Want me to do some more tricks?" Jak started to giggle, and then he nodded. "Alright, then!" Daxter said. "Let's see what I can do, huh?"

Daxter entertained Jak with all the various tricks his 6 year-old mind could come up with until Samos practically dragged the two back up to his hut.

"You boys were in the water all day- you must be exhausted!" He said, throwing them towels. "Oh c-c-come on Grandpa G-G-Green, we're not that ti-i-i-i-red." Daxter yawned. Jak giggled quietly and slipped into the pajamas Samos handed him. "Go to sleep now boys- and no frogs in Jak's bed, Daxter!" Samos said before leaving the two alone. "But, why not?" Daxter called as the door was pulled closed. "BECAUSE I said so!" Samos called back.

Jak climbed into his bed. Compared to Daxter, he must have been the king of neat or something. While Daxter jumped onto his bed and ripped back the covers, Jak climbed onto his bed (which was almost taller than him) crawled across to the pillow and unfolded the blanket neatly. He got under the covers and pulled them up to his neck. Jak lay on his side, lulled by the sound of the waves.

Ever since that day, Jak felt an emotion he couldn't explain; an urge to be as close to Daxter as possible. So, Jak became Daxter's conscience, and Daxter became Jak's voice. They were inseparable, but it was different for Jak, somehow. Daxter looked upon Jak as a friend and brother, but Jak couldn't explain how he felt toward Daxter but he knew it was different.

It wasn't until later that Jak realized what that unrecognizable feeling was...

Jak was sitting in a chair, thinking quietly to himself. It had been like that for about 2 hours; him alone in the room, stuck to the chair, thinking about things. The door opened and Daxter rushed in, yelling, "Hi Jak!" And startling the elf so much it brought tears to Jak's eyes. He quickly wiped them away, before Daxter saw them, and held a hand to his heart, thinking, "What a scare!"

"Hey Dax." Jak greeted as Daxter hopped up onto his shoulder. "Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Daxter asked, pressing his forehead to Jak's. Jak swatted his friend away playfully and laughed. "Nothing, just... old times." Jak said, sighing and standing up. Daxter frowned. "Want to talk about it?" Daxter asked, slipping into one of his rare moods. Jak couldn't respond as his communicator went off. "Jak, I need you at the Underground." Torn's voice said.

Jak let out a low growl. "Uh, sure. Be right there Torn." He got up and frowned. "I'm coming too, right Jak?" Daxter asked. Jak looked down at Daxter, and nodded. "Why wouldn't you come?" He asked. Jak smiled as the Ottsel hopped onto his shoulder and the two headed off to the Underground. "What the hell does Torn want us for now?" Daxter asked. "I thought we already blew up the ammo dump, gave water back to the slums, rescued his chick friend, stolen a banner, made an illegal delivery, what else could he want?"

Jak laughed at Daxter's outburst. "You weren't complaining about Ashelin before." Jak mused, walking to his Zoomer. Daxter hopped onto teh seat. "I'm sick of doing his dirty work." Daxter whined. Jak shook his head and started the Zoomer. "You're so lazy, Dax." He joked. Daxter kicked Jak feebly. "Just drive." He demanded, a hint of laughter in his voice

Jak drove the hover carefully through the streets to the Underground. He had been chased a lot around the city this week and just wanted to spare the lives of a few KG members... for a couple of hours, until Torn's mission to rip apart even more of them, or something like that.

Daxter was drumming his fingers against Jak's shoulder, trying to find a tune. Although it was kind of annoying Jak and making him feel nervous at the same time, he said nothing. As a result of the drumming, he nearly crashed the hover when he parked it and when he was walking into the Underground he fell down the steps. Daxter looked at him oddly. "You ok buddy?"

"Yea, I'm fine." Jak said, shaking his head. Daxter frowned. "I don't believe you." He said. "I know you Jak, you don't act like this for no reason." Daxter said. But he couldn't push the matter further. Torn stepped out from the Underground. "I need you and the rat to go to Dead Town. There's an artifact in the old hut down there we need you to get. Bring it back as son as you can; the Shadow needs it."

"The... old... hut?" Daxter repeated. "In dead town?" Torn nodded, glaring at Daxter. "Yeah, the old hut. Why?" "You say... the Shadow needs something... there?" Daxter asked. "Get your earplugs out of your ears you RAT!" Torn yelled in frustration. "Get going!" Jak snorted at the behaviour of the two, and slowly headed out and back to the zoomer. "So, dead town huh?" Daxter asked. "Creepy!" Jak rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dax, let's just go." He said, starting the Zoomer and going to the entrance.

Ever since Daxter had snapped him out of his revelation, he couldn't stop thinking about it. But the thing he couldn't stop thinking about the most was what he had realized. He realized he had feelings for Daxter; feelings that had been there for years.

His legs once again felt wobbly as the entered the vast wasted land known as Dead Town. He swayed a little, and dropped down to the ground again. He stayed there for a while. "Jak!" Daxter called. "Jak, what is really the matter?" Jak rolled onto his back. "I... don't know." He said. "I feel... strange, it's unexplainable."

Daxter looked at the elf and sighed. "Come on, before Torn comes out here in person to see what the hell is going on!"

Jak nodded and stood. "I still want to know what's going on Jak; I've known you for 12 years, I should know when something is wrong!" Daxter said, digging his claws into Jak's shoulder. "Nothing's wrong." Jak insisted. "Yes there is" Daxter pushed.

They argued like that longer then any normal human could stand before Jak began to break down. "Just tell me what's wrong! I'm not going to be mad!" Daxter exclaimed. "I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, DAX!" Jak yelled finally.

Daxter was stunned. He wasn't going to kill Jak for saying that... well, blurting it, but he had never expected to hear Jak say that - ever. They had been so close over the 12+ years they knew each other, but now this? Daxter didn't know what to say, but finally, he found words. "Do you really?" He asked, patting Jak's shoulder. "... How long?"

Jak turned his red face away from Daxter. "I don't know. For as long as I can remember." Jak murmured. Daxter frowned. He'd felt closer then normal to Jak on occasion, but he didn't know if he could return his best friend's feelings for him. They were both speechless until Jak reached the old hut.

"Well... we're at the hut." Daxter said. "The place where we grew up. All of our... ... fondest ... memories here, yeah?" Jak didn't reply. He was closer to tears than ever now. Dax knew his secret and hadn't responded as well as he would have thought Daxter to respond to something like that. "Let's... get what we came here for and leave, huh?" Jak finally uttered. "Torn'll be wanting us back soon for another mission."

Jak felt Daxter nod, and he entered the hut. He could feel his old memories pushing in on him from all sides, crushing him. He could almost see Daxter and himself as teenagers lounging around. He willed his feelings down and for a moment wished he was like Torn; emotionless. That way he wouldn't have to feel the pain. For even if Daxter loved him in return, what sort of life would they have, an elf and an animal?

Jak firmly gripped the thing they had come for, and turned away. The memories faded almost instantly, like snow in a fire or something. He left the hut and carefully hopped and jumped across the ledges to get back down to the ground. It hadn't been an overly hard climb up but now it seemed harder to get down. While jumping across a particularly long gap, he slipped and was millimeters from missing grabbing onto the ledge. Daxter was hanging there, nails clawed into his shoulder.

"You ok, Dax?" Jak asked, pulling himself up." Daxter nodded. "Yes... but Jak, we might want to leave right about now." Daxter said, becoming panicked. The building around them began crumbling, and Jak ran for the exit. The ceiling above him cracked and reached the exit before Jak did. The ceiling began crumbling and Jak stopped so he wouldn't be crushed. He turned to go the other way, but realized there was no way out.

They were trapped.

Jak growled and scolded himself out loud. "If only I had gone the other way we wouldn't be doomed to this little... god!" He slammed his fist into the wall behind him with an angry yell. Daxter watched him, confused and sad for how miserable Jak was feeling. Daxter didn't know what to say to cheer Jak up. "Jak..." Daxter started. "Please stop..."

Jak ignored Daxter and continued to stomp around. He even turned dark and attempted to blast through the rock, but nothing worked. "Jak, please, just... jsut call Torn. He'll know what to do." Daxter said, worried. "Yea... yea, Torn'll know what- Where the hell is the communicator!" Jak yelled. Daxter looked around quickly, and noticed the communicator, crushed, under a rock.

"Oh, no way. That did NOT happen!" Jak growled, dropping to his knees and crawling over to the ruined communicator. "Jak... don't worry about it!" Daxter said, shaking a little at his friend's sudden outbursts. "We can't stay here forever, you know." "No, not forever." Jak said, burying his head in his hands. "But we should be back now, and the amount of time spent here is waay too much. We might not make it out alive!"

Daxter chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood. "Oh, c'mon Jak, don't be such a drama queen. We'll be fine. Torn'll figure something's up and send someone for us. So... no worries, ok?" Daxter said, approaching Jak slowly, afraid his friend would explode. "No worries... yea... say that when a Metal Head finds it's way in here or worse!" Jak said, his head in his hands.

Daxter groaned inwardly. "There'll be no pleasing you, right Jak?" He asked himself out loud, turning and going to sit on a big rock. Jak turned and looked at the infuriated ottsel cooling his temper on the rock. He was avoiding Jak, he knew it, because of what Jak told him. So in return, Jak was angry at Daxter for not saying anything. "... I'm sorry, Daxter." Jak said finally, facing forward.

Daxter frowned. "For what? Acting like a nutter or for taking it out on me?" He asked sarcastically. Jak frowned as well. "For both." He said, shaking his head. Daxter sighed; he could never stay mad at Jak for long, but he couldn't stop thinking about what Jak had said earlier. It had stirred something inside of him he never realized was there, but he couldn't quite place it.

He shook it off and padded over to Jak. "No harm done." He said, smiling.

Jak smiled for the first time in a while. "That's good to hear, although every bad word I've said to you stays stuck to my memory like a post-it note and I feel more and more guilty than before." Daxter frowned. "Now why would ya do that, eh buddy? That's a bad habit you got from your father!"

Jak flinched and frowned. He hadn't known his father, duh! He only had mental pictures of the man, and they were slowly fading from his memory, making him more of a lost cause than he felt already.

Daxter watched Jak carefully. They were silent for awhile, both brooding over things that were different, and yet the same. Jak was mentally berating himself. 'I told him, I can't believe I told him! No good can come from it now, not like any good ever could. He'd never go for me, he's with Tess, right? God I'm so stupid! And now here we are...' Jak felt like punching something, but he didn't want to startle Daxter again, so he remained as calm as he could.

Night had started to fall as the two remained lost in their thoughts... Daxter thinking about Jak's comment, and Jak... Daxter. I mean, how he took the comment and what would eventually happen. He saw something in his mind that scared him. And when you hear scared, you know that Jak has stared death in the face many times before without a comment, but he was scared about this picture in his head..

He saw him, and Daxter. Dax was standing on Jak's shoulder, and they were walking along talking. This was before the comment. Then, there was the comment. He saw another image of them walking along, Daxter on Jak's shoulder and they weren't talking. Then, there was yet another image. Jak was walking along, with Daxter... by his side. A few feet away from his side in reality.

The final image is what made Jak break down again. There he was, shuffling his feet along the ground as he walked. Daxter was nowhere in sight. Daxter noticed Jak was struggling not to cry, and his frightened Daxter. He had only seen Jak cry when he was younger, and this change in character disturbed him. "Jak..." Daxter started. Jak didn't seem to notice Daxter had said anything. "Jak..." Daxter started again. Jak looked at Daxter, a far-away look in his eyes. "What, Dax?"

Daxter looked at his almost life-long pal, Jak, and took a deep breath. "What's the matter? Y-you can tell your old pal, Dax, right?"

Jak slowly turned and looked at Daxter. His eyes were as cold and gray-looking as granite, and he felt distant to Daxter. "You want to know?" He whispered hoarsely. "I'll tell you, then."

Daxter looked at Jak sympathetically.

"First, we are as close as ever. Then, after I say something I've holed up for ages, we loose our close friendship. First, you stand on my shoulder. We talk and play and joke along. Then, there is an awkward silence, After that, you walk by my side, on the other side of the path. And then, when I think things could have gotten worse, they get worse. You aren't there anymore!" Several tears slipped from his eyes and he turned away. "I can't bear losing my best friend!"

Daxter was confused. "Jak... what do you mean? When wasn't I there? I'm here now, aren't I? What's wrong?" Daxter asked, trying to sound sympathetic. He didn't want to seem un-caring, but he was confused. Jak glared at him, his eyes like the ocean during a storm. "You know what I'm talking about, Daxter. We're going to fall apart because of what I said; god I'm so STUPID!" Jak yelled, punching the floor so hard he heard a crack as his hand broke. Jak cried out in pain and brought his hand to his chest, cradling it and cursing his utter stupidity under his breath.

Daxter frowned. He really wanted to say something to Jak but Jak was being so cold, and now he had gone and hurt himself in the process. "Jak...?" Daxter asked.

Jak looked at his limp throbbing-with-deadly-pain hand and sighed. He might as well talk to the only companion he had left. "Yeah what?" He asked. Daxter came up behind him and patted the elf's arm. "Can I help at all?"

"Can you harness Green Eco and heal my hand?" Jak hissed. 'Or my heart...' He added as an after-thought. Daxter frowned, beginning to feel angry himself. "I understand if you need to take some anger out on someone and that I'm the only other person here, but I'll be over on that rock when you decide to come to your senses." Daxter said calmly, climbing over to the rock he had occupied before.

Jak turned and watched Daxter go, a sad frown on his face. He couldn't bring himself to say anything, so he didn't. He just sat in silence, not even noticing his hand was bleeding until Daxter said something.

"You're bleeding, Jak." Daxter said, suddenly next to him. Jak looked at his hand and nodded when he saw the blood. Daxter sighed. "It doesn't matter." Jak said dully. "We're all doomed to die one day."

"Don't say that!" Daxter yelped, jumping onto Jak and slapping him in the face. "Just because we'll all die one day doesn't mean that you have to make your death quicker!" Jak looked at Daxter, who for once was telling the truth. "Hey, Dax, you're right!" He said. "Thanks for showing me that."

Daxter smirked and helped Jak with the Eco. "There, is it feeling better?" He asked. Jak moved his hand around a little. It was...

Jak felt normal again, somehow. "Thanks, Dax." Jak smiled, flexing his hand. "No problem." Daxter smiled. They sat in silence again, but it was different this time; it wasn't an awkward silence, but a companionable one. Daxter began thinking about something he had felt earlier, an emotion that stirred up inside him. It was like a fluttering in his stomach.

He couldn't figure out what it was; he'd never felt it before. He remembered hearing something about it once before, a fluttering, butterflies. As he thought about it, the more he realized what that fluttering was. He gasped, earning a jump from Jak at the unexpected sound.

"What is it, Dax?" Jak asked. Daxter looked up at Jak, and bit his lip. He didn't want to say anything to Jak in case what he thought was wrong. He didn't want to say one thing, then say another the next day, so Daxter decided to keep his new discovery to himself until he was sure. "Nothing, Jak. It's nothing."

Jak nodded. "Ok then Dax."

He turned back to glaring out towards the ruins he had been watching most of the day. He curled his long locks around a couple of his fingers, and sighed. He changed to Dark Jak and climbed up the rubble and looked over the almost pitch-black horizon. It was getting cold, that was for sure. Just over the small ledge he was on there was a cave that looked like it could keep out more cold than where they currently were. He climbed back down. "Dax, there's a warmer cave over there!"

Daxter was still a bit off from what he had just realized, so it took him a few moments to respond. "Yea- ok." He said, jumping onto Jak's shoulder. Jak looked at him confused, but ignored it for the time being and jumped down into the cave. "This is warmer." Daxter commented, jumping onto the ground. Jak nodded, and sat down. "Dax... what was up earlier. You made me jump." Jak said, flicking his fingers around idly.

"Uh- I, uhmmm, thought I figured out that I lov- - knew why Torn was so grr, but I didn't. He's still a mystery." Jak looked at Daxter, who was shaking a little bit. "Are you sure?" Jak asked, and when the Ottsel nodded frantically he just shrugged. "Alright then." He said.

He grabbed his pack and took out a blanket. He chucked it at Daxter. "I'll take the first watch." He said, getting up and walking to the entrance of the cave. Daxter curled up underneath the blanket, but instead of trying to sleep he watched Jak instead. Everything he'd heard about love was happening then; the fluttering ,the heart skipping beats. He'd only just realized it because he hadn't thought about it before. He supposed those feelings had been there for a long time, but he had never dwindled on them.

Daxter watched Jak for a long time, until he stood and joined him. "Dax! What are you doing? You should be asleep..." Jak trailed off. Daxter climbed up to Jak's shoudler. "Couldn't sleep. Not tired." He sighed. "Oh." Was all Jak said. They stood in an awkward silence again, until Daxter yawned. Jak grinned, "Not tired, eh, whisker-puss?" He said, mimicking Tess and chuckling at Daxter's annoyed look. "I hate it when she does that."

"How come?" Jak asked. "You always used to go all ... what was the word... fuzzy, and purr and what not?"

Daxter nodded. "That was then and now is now, buddy." Jak nodded. "Yeah, that's right." More silence. Daxter was fidgeting on Jak's shoulder, and Jak noticed. "What is the REAL matter, Dax? Like you said, we've known each other long enough to know when something is wrong. Tell me!"

Daxter sighed. "Oh, the someone else thing." Jak said coolly. "If you are a 'thing' with Tess, and you have stronger feelings for someone else apart from her, tell her that you're breaking it off because you don't want to be unfair to her, ya know?" Daxter thought about it for a minute or two. He looked over the area and saw a Metal Head coming towards them. "AArrgh!" He shouted. "Metal Head!"

"You stay here and And you, newcomer! You deserve no mercy! says: guard the things!" Jak said, running down towards it and causing Daxter to fly off his shoulder. Dax got up, brushed himself off, and said a little more loudly then he intended, "I love you too, buddy."

Jak heard Daxter's words. He almost stopped in his tracks, but the Metal Head threat kept him going. He shot it between the eyes and made sure it was dead. He scanned the area for more Metal Head's before heading back to the cave. He found Daxter watching him.

"Daxter... what did you say earlier?" Jak demanded, tossing his gun down, hoping he wasn't mistaken in what he had heard. "I... said..." Daxter stammered, embarrassed that Jak HAD heard. He jumped up onto Jak and grabbed his collar. "I love you too!" He cried. "I was thinking about it this whole day! I've had this unexplained feelings in me for about... a couple of months now and now I know what they were!"

Jak was gobsmacked. He smiled, knowing that Daxter never lied or backed out on what he said. "Re-really?" Daxter gulped and nodded. To Daxter's surprise, Jak's face grew dark. "What's wrong Jak? Things are ok now, right?" He asked. "No. No they're not. We can't... we can't be together like that now, Dax. That time for us is over; you're an Ottsel, you can't go back. And I can't be like you. And now that you've told me what you have it's only going to make it harder." Jak said. "So what do you want Jak? To not feel the way I do? You want so much! I've only just realized it and you're telling me not to?" Daxter said, growing angry.

"No, no it's not that!" Jak cried, frustrated. "I don't want you to be hurt, that's all. I mean, I've known about these feelings since I was a mute, and that was several years ago! You just found out yours, you didn't process them over the amount of time I did, and you could just be pitying yourself over me having feelings for you!"

"If that's what you think, then I think you're wrong!" Daxter growled. "You can tell by only one way!"

Daxter took one of the biggest chances of his life, and kissed Jak.

Jak was awestruck by what Daxter did; it wasn't an unpleasant feeling it was just different. Their kiss was nothing more then a chaste one, something you'd see between friends. But to them it was so much more; it was like letting go before they'd even started. It held pain and hope; sorrow and longing. Hello and good-bye. It ended almost as soon as it had begun when Daxter pulled back.

"What is it?" Jak asked. He can't really say that he didn't enjoy that. He did, he didn't, it was all too sudden for him. And Daxter, it seemed. "What is it, Dax?" Jak repeated, kneeling down to Daxter and moving his hand in front of the Ottsel's face. "Daxter!"

Daxter backed away from Jak, his life long friend. He wasn't sure what had just happened there, and he was confused. "That... I shouldn't have... I had to know..." Daxter stuttered as if in a trance. Jak frowned. "It's ok, Dax. I understand." Jak started, but Daxter shook his head. "I still shouldn't have done that." Daxter murmured. He couldn't account for Jak's feelings, but Daxter was more confused then ever. He both loved and hated what had happened, but he couldn't figure out why his feelings were mixed.

He loved Jak, didn't he?

"I'll... uh, be back later." Daxter said, and headed out of the cave. He looked over where they were, when it hit him. They could leave. When Jak leapt over that piece of rubble they had got out of where they were stuck and were closer to the exit. Daxter thought a minute... Jak didn't know. Could Daxter leave on his own? He sat on a rock and decided to think more on it.

Jak was inside, sitting faced away from the cave entrance. Why had Daxter done that only to regret it? Maybe Daxter was playing with him...? Jak thought, 'Dax would never do that! He's my pal, right?'

Daxter kicked stones off the ledge. 'I can't stay here.' He thought. He couldn't think, he couldn't sort anything out with Jak right over his shoulder. He stood up and began to pace. He noticed Jak watching him over his shoulder and knew he couldn't do anything yet. So he sat back down, even more confused then before. "What am I gonna do?" He muttered, burying his head in his hands.

It was growing colder. Jak finally stopped watching Daxter and decided to try and sleep before the morning, and the next day of pondering what death may be like. He curled up in a ball and shut his eyes slowly.

Daxter, who peeked at Jak every few minutes, saw this and when he thought the coast was clear he leapt off the rock and raced down the hill towards the exit, not looking back.

Jak was oblivious to his friend deserting him, and wouldn't find out for a few hours.

Daxter climbed back up the ledge and through the security door back to Haven City. He ran as fast as his Ottsel legs could carry him and back to the Underground hideout. Torn was there. He looked up when he saw Daxter come in, and smirk.

"What? Didn't poor Jak make it? All I did was send you to get one miserable thing and Jak doesn't come back? Geez..."

Daxter lost control then, and did something he hadn't done before. He exploded in a torrent of angry words and yelling. "Shut up! Just SHUT UP! You don't know what you're talking about, you don't know what happened! Just go get him and stop talking!" Daxter screamed, then collapsed onto a bunk as Torn left,

looking at him strangely as he did.

"You don't know what happened..." Daxter repeated in a whisper.

"What did happen?" Torn asked, kneeling down by the distressed Ottsel. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"I ... left HIM THERE!" Daxter started yelling, slamming his fists on the ground. "I ran away because I couldn't take it anymore and he doesn't even know! He thinks I'm watching guard and he could be dead!"

Torn didn't understand. "So... you left Jak in Dead Town?"

"No, I left him on the moon!" Daxter roared. "Yeah, I left him there. All on his own. I-I've gotta go back! -- No, I can't go. You go Torn."

"Come with me." Torn offered. Daxter screamed in frustration. "I can't; don't you understand that I can't! I can't go back there, not until I know. I can't see him until I'm sure!" Daxter mumbled like a lunatic while Torn looked on. "Just tell me where he is and I'll bring him back." Torn said. Daxter nodded and gave him instructions to the best of his ability. When he finished Torn left, and Daxter fell into a distressed state and couldn't even sit still.

Tess was dropping something at the Underground after Torn was gone. Of course, she didn't know he left, and she stopped by the door. She heard muffled yells and things breaking. She went down and saw Daxter, as though he was on a sugar high, but he was yelling and crying too.

"Daxter!" she cried. "What's the matter, shnookums?"

Daxter looked up. Of course, Tess didn't know what happened in Dead Town, she hadn't been there!

"Tess..." Daxter moaned. "I... I can't take it anymore!" "Take what?" She asked, scratching under his chin. He made no move to purr or whatever he used to do, and that worried Tess. "Daxter... what's wrong?"

Daxter grew angry. "I left Jak in Dead Town by himself. I don't even know if he's ok! And if he's hurt... if he's hurt it's all my fault!" Daxter ranted, clutching his fists and fighting back tears. "I'm sure he's fine. He can take care of himself." Tess reassured, sounding sympathetic. "He was sleeping when I left! What if a Metal Head got him in his sleep!" Daxter asked.

"I... don't know." Tess admitted. "But Jak's tough, he'll make it." Daxter wasn't assured. "And besides..." She added as an after thought. "Didn't Torn go out there or something?" Daxter shrugged. "Dunno. I think so, but I don't remember."

"I saw him leaving; he said he was on his way to Dead Town but he didn't say why. I'm sure Jak is ok. Please don't worry, kay?" Tess said, petting Daxter's back. "I can't help it Tess." Daxter murmured. "You guys must be really close, huh?" Tess wondered out loud. Daxter laughed bitterly. "More then you know." He muttered, standing up.

"I'm going for a walk. Alone. Please stay here. I'll be back soon." Daxter said, jumping off the bed. "Alright." Tess nodded. "Be careful!" She called as Daxter walked up the stairs. Daxter nodded as he heard that. He left the Underground, and slowly walked down the alleyway.

When he was on Jak's shoulder things just flew past, but now he was walking on his own two feet things seemed way more slower and he didn't understand it. He hated the slow feeling.

He finally got out of the Slums. The rain was pattering down on him and the rest of the city. He never used to mind the rain but now it was, for no apparent reason, a real bother. He walked wherever his feet took him without really realizing where he was going. He was lost in thought until he stopped walking. He looked up and realized where he was; outside the airlock leading to Dead Town. How he ended up there, he didn't know, he just stood on the ledge and watched the door, hoping it would open.

When neither Torn nor Jak entered, he sat on the ledge and let his legs dangle over the sides. He continued thinking and mentally cursed the rain as it fell harder. After a while of just sitting there, he began to feel the tiredness and also the cold of the rain. He curled up and closed his eyes, knowing that if he went to find Jak now the Metal Heads would rip Daxter apart first.

He was asleep, fast asleep by the time Torn came out with Jak. Torn and Jak were talking when they entered the city, and they almost didn't notice Daxter sleeping on the ledge until Jak nearly stepped on him. Jak stared bitterly at the soaked Ottsel and Torn picked Daxter up. Daxter opened his eyes when Torn started walking again. "Torn? What's going on?" Daxter asked, crawling onto Torn's shoulder. He still hadn't seen Jak, who was on Torn's other side.

"I found Jak," Torn replied. "He's fine; angry but fine." Daxter winced. That was all his fault. He pouted and sat on Torn's shoulder until they got back to the Underground. Jak headed off and Daxter went to talk to him.

"Jak..." Daxter asked. "Dax, go away." Jak said. "You were supposed to be my friend. You left me in Dead Town!" Daxter pouted again. "I'm sorry!" He said. "I'm sorry, alright? I only did it because I was confused!" "You were confused! So you left me alone in Dead Town because you were CONFUSED? Do you know how selfish that is?" Jak demanded, rounding on Daxter. "I didn't know what else to do!" Daxter insisted. Jak snorted. "I could have died because you weren't watching for Metal Heads; I wouldn't have left you there!" Jak yelled. "You can take care of those things! I can't!" Daxter yelled back. "I can't 'take care' of them in my sleep, Dax!"

Daxter whimpered up at Jak, who was standing glaring down at him like a tower. "I said I was sorry!" Daxter yelled, jumping up again, "I realized my mistake now, you see!" "Oh, you did?" Jak asked. "And that was...?" Daxter had a firm expression on his face when he replied, "To have ever loved you in return."

He turned and fled the room. He raced past Tess, who was filing her nails, and past Torn, who was pouring over some maps. He ran to the farthest room he could and closed the door. He wasn't sure why he said he didn't love Jak when he still wasn't sure what the truth was, but he couldn't take it anymore; he'd said the first thing that came to mind.

Maybe it was the truth?

At any rate, Daxter threw himself to the floor and buried his head in his arms and cried.

Jak watched Daxter go with a forlorn look on his face. "I can't say I didn't expect it." Jak said aloud, as though Daxter were still there. "We're not going to be the same anymore, are we Dax?" Jak continued talking as though Daxter were still in the room. Jak smiled sadly. "You'll act the same, then you won't be on my shoulder anymore. Then you'll be far behind me." Jak continued, taking a deep breath and trying not to cry.

"Pretty soon, you'll be gone."


End file.
